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K
Koen278594498gx9
Participating Frequently
January 9, 2023
Answered

can we use "auto" options in actions?

  • January 9, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 2014 views

Hi

 

I'm working with aerial photo's. Per project we are talking about 10000 photos. 

Sometimes these photos need some adjustments in Photoshop. 

 

We can't review all the photo's indiviual as this would take too long. So I always make an action that benefits all the photos and then run that action in batch. 

 

The problem I have is that the auto adjust option of the camera raw filter doesn't work in an action. 

I open a photo, I start recording the action, I open camera raw, press auto, save the result and stop the recording. 

When I check the recording you can see that Photoshop only saved values specific for the photo I opened. So, when I run that action in batch it will adjust all the photo's with the "auto" values of the picture I used to make the action. That's not what I want. 

If you use other tools, like auto levels, these work fine. 

 

You'll see what I mean on the screenshot I took.

 

 

Is there a workaround or is this just not possible?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Stephen Marsh

Ok, I made the script in notepad++.

Changed it to .jsx and copied it in the scripts folder of PS.

If I open the .jsx file in PS of double click it, it gives this error:

Have I done something wrong?

I'm on PS 2023.


If installed, the script should be available under File > Scripts – so no need to double-click it or to use File > Scripts > Browse.

 

The error appears to indicate that the code doesn't work in your version of Photoshop.

 

The code obviously worked for the version available when it was written.

 

Do you have an appropriate image open when running the script?

3 replies

Chuck Uebele
Community Expert
Chuck UebeleCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 9, 2023
  • I would agree with @Lumigraphics. I would open a large batch of images in camera Raw, then do auto correction. Then run an action or script to finish whatever processing you need to do. I used to do this when I was working. If you open the files via open in ACR in Bridge, and run you final.script in PS, you can have PS running the script on one batch of files, while you open another in ACR. That really speeds up a workflow.
    K
    Koen278594498gx9Author
    Participating Frequently
    January 9, 2023

    Define large batch... Is it 50 photos or 500 photos?

    L
    Lumigraphics
    Legend
    January 9, 2023

    Potentially thousands of images at once. For example, you can setup your parameters, save an ACR/Lightroom editing preset, and bulk apply it to as many photos as you want. There is also third-party software like ImageMagick which will be MUCH faster and can handle large numbers of images at once.

      L
      Lumigraphics
      Legend
      January 9, 2023

      You may want to change your workflow to do bulk changes in Bridge, Lightroom, Photo Mechanic, etc.

        K
        Koen278594498gx9Author
        Participating Frequently
        January 9, 2023

        I'll try to test these programs, but I'm not familiar with them. 

        J
        jefbr
        Inspiring
        January 9, 2023

        Hi Koen

         

        I hope someone else can disagree, but afaik it's not possible out of the box.

        I put the log file of these 2 below so you can look under the hood:

         

        // CAMERA RAW ON AUTO =======================================================
var desc493 = new ActionDescriptor();
desc493.putString( charIDToTypeID("CrVe"), "15.1.1" );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("PrVN"), 5 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("PrVe"), 184549376 );
desc493.putDouble( charIDToTypeID("Ex12"), 0.760000 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Cr12"), 7 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Hi12"), -85 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Sh12"), 53 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Wh12"), -10 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Bk12"), -19 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Vibr"), 20 );
desc493.putInteger( charIDToTypeID("Strt"), 3 );
executeAction( charIDToTypeID("Adobe Camera Raw Filter"), desc493, DialogModes.NO );

// LEVELS =======================================================
var desc500 = new ActionDescriptor();
desc500.putBoolean( charIDToTypeID("Auto"), true );
executeAction( charIDToTypeID("Lvls"), desc500, DialogModes.NO );

         

        You can see absolute values with Camera RAW and an "Auto" value for Levels.

        However, you can most likely write a script that can calculate the required values.

         

        If in the histogram of the image you find that the darkest value is "10", apply -10 to Bk12 and you'll get a pure black, etc etc etc.

         

        All the best!

        Stephen Marsh
        Community Expert
        Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 9, 2023
        quote

        Hi Koen

         

        I hope someone else can disagree, but afaik it's not possible out of the box.


        By @jefbr

         

        You are of course correct, however, @r-bin to the rescue:

         

        https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/how-to-record-button-click-on-action/td-p/10858184

          K
          Koen278594498gx9Author
          Participating Frequently
          January 10, 2023

          If installed, the script should be available under File > Scripts – so no need to double-click it or to use File > Scripts > Browse.

           

          The error appears to indicate that the code doesn't work in your version of Photoshop.

           

          The code obviously worked for the version available when it was written.

           

          Do you have an appropriate image open when running the script?


          Stephen

           

          I didn't had an image open... 🙂 

          So it does work, that made my day. 

          Thanks for the tips and introduction in PS scripts.

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